In Amorem Incideris
by crysta656
Summary: All it took was a glimpse. Just quick moments in time painted in extraordinary hues and intoxicating scents would change him and set him on the course to become the man he was always destined to be.


_Just a quick one-shot that I will leave up to you to decide what happened before and what happens after. Honestly, my mind was just caught by this spiteful little muse and before I knew it Lucius Malfoy was here, falling in love again. If the muse gave me more back story, I would give it to you, but honestly, she said that this was all she was giving me and to just take it in this form and deliver it forth. I hope you enjoy! _

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In Amorem Incideris

He lost count of the minutes he stood there watching her carefully sip her tea as she slowly turned the pages of the book laid out before her. Her eyes never left the page and she never gave a single indication that the world was moving around her or that he was near and utterly entranced with the vision she presented. She was completely absorbed in her peaceful surroundings and he yearned to sit next to her, just for a time and allow her to draw him into her world.

Time ceased to exist as he drank in her every movement like a man dying of an unquenchable thirst. She was perfection. From the way she brushed a wayward curl out of her eyes when the wind decided to dance with the chocolate lock to the way her lips turned up at the corners as she read a passage that obviously pleased her. She was a true delight to behold and it seemed that each dainty move she made was choreographed to only captivate him further.

She was bewitching him slowly and he was perfectly happy to fall under her spell and let her banish the darkness and shadows that hung around him like a leaden cloak. He instinctively felt that if he could bathe in her light that it would all disappear- his past, his mistakes, all the things that had turned him into the man that he hardly recognized when he looked in the mirror. Just one smile, a genuine and gracious curve of her lips would give him the redemption and absolution that he craved, that had been so far out of his reach for so long.

So he stood there, spellbound by the very essence of her. He didn't feel the weight of his body in his fine Italian leather shoes or the stiffness of his limbs from having moved nary a muscle since catching a glimpse of her. He didn't notice or care, from his place in the shadows that the burnt sun had long disappeared and had been replaced with clear night that was alive with laughter and life.

A traveling band had slowly made it's way down the street and his gaze followed her, hungry, as she placed her book into her bag. With excitement she got up from the table to join in with the other revelers who had broken out into a dance under the garden lights that hung between the ancient buildings.

Her body swayed effortlessly in time with the music, her eyes closed and her mouth turned up into a soft smile as the sweet strains echoed off the stone walls around them. And she danced, her arms light as a feather while she pulled her hair free of it's confines.

Then she laughed with joy and it was a breath of fresh air that eased the heavy burdens of his heart. With a lightness he didn't know he was capable of feeling, he found his body making it's way to her of it's own accord, eager to be surrounded by elation that was all her making.

She didn't frown or curse as he came upon her with his cloak of superiority still gathered around him. She simply reached out her small hand to grasp onto his, her whiskey coloured eyes twinkling without judgment or scorn as she moved closer to him, drawing him into the moment right along with her.

His body was at first unsure how to move but she was with him, guiding him until he was relaxed as well, living in the present with his layers falling away until he was no longer aware of what was going on around him. He thought that this was her world and he was privileged to glimpse it.

It was all softly painted tones, silken touches and a beguiling mixture of jasmine, rose and sandalwood that captured his senses. It was a delicate world, one that he had never known before and knew that he would always long for as it was so perfect in it's simplicity and design.

"What do you think perfection is?" She asked him suddenly, with a curious but excited voice as her body moved against his with an agonizing slowness. "Is it something you can touch? Something you can own?"

He didn't want to disrupt the moment by speaking so he didn't. He stayed silent, content to just enjoy this glorious moment with her. He simply left the question out there, flung into the universe to answer for him however and whenever it saw fit.

All too soon the moment was over as a cold wind blew through the streets and the band began to move away, their drifting melody pulling him harshly from the idyllic wonderland the he had been searching for. Her sweet eyes held his, filling the contents of his soul as she slowly eased her hand out of his, causing him to feel the world around him once again. She smiled warmly at him, a small gesture that gave him a small glimmering of hope before drifting away and finally, disappearing to the wind.

And then he was alone on the now deserted streets. His only company was his thoughts and the memory of how she felt to be his for that brief moment of time.

Time passed at it's normal pace around him between his encounter with her in the alley and when he saw her next. If someone were to ask just how long it had been between then and now, he wouldn't have been able to say. Time simply came and went as is it's way and it was the same for him. He lived his life, one day at a time, going through the motions of life and expectations.

With careful and expert hands, he rebuilt his empire and expanded his already immense wealth. He bought and sold, traded and kept, profited and occasionally lost. He took steps to ensure his families survival, including but not limited to new enterprises in new markets and new worlds. He worked for his family every day, but when he laid his head on his pillow at night, he didn't feel the peace and security that he should. Instead, he only felt an overwhelming loneliness and an ache for more.

He knew that he should be content as his life was carrying on as it was meant to. His son had taken the step towards his future with marriage and the eventual announcement that they were expecting. His family was continuing and thriving and so was he, but he knew what he was missing. He had glimpsed it once and it had become his most fervent desire. It was his closest and most guarded dream and there were times that he wanted it so badly that he thought he would go mad and self-destruct.

It was that hope that had him sitting on the Ministries various charity boards. He hoped, however foolishly, that the feeling of giving, of contributing would help him feel like the man he wanted to be, more like the person she was.

And then it happened. A scent wafted into the room, one that he remembered from an evening long ago. A moment in time, really, where he was free of his trappings and responsibilities. A brief window where he had felt that anything was possible.

He closed his eyes, allowing that wonderful scent to wash over him and cleanse him of all his wrongs. When he finally felt his soul heave a great sigh of relief he opened his eyes to see her face smiling before him. She didn't look at him, no, her attention was focused on the man at the head of the table as she considered the words that were circulating around the room. But, he didn't care. If she wasn't looking at him, he could indulge himself for a few moments and just take her in.

She hadn't changed much in the time that had passed since he was last in her presence. Her eyes were still alight with wonder and rapture at the world around her. The chocolate mass of curls around her face sill danced with beautiful fluidity with every move she took. She still had that smile that eased the tension in his chest and set his world to rights. And she still had the power to move him beyond words even though she was unaware of the gift she was bestowing on him.

Slowly, as if the fates decided to fawn on him again, she turned those liquid whiskey coloured eyes that he had thought of so frequently on him. Much like the last time, he expected hate and rejection from her gaze, but it was anything but. Her eyes were soft as they landed on him and shone with tenderness and gentility. And he was caught, caught again in the sublime serenity that was her alone.

He didn't know how long he sat basking in her light, even after the meeting ended and the majority of the people had fled the room to continue on with their hectic schedules. He was content to just sit with her only inches away, her smell and smiles surrounding him in a delicate and warm glow.

Not breaking the spell that she had woven over him she grinned and made her way over to him, once again clasping her delicate palm into his and pulling him from the uncomfortable chair.

He didn't question where they were going, even when they exited the Ministry and found themselves sitting on the beautifully manicured lawns of the park outside. He didn't care who saw them or what people would say to see him of all people sitting intimately next to her, the one woman he had no right to be near. Instead he counted his blessings that someone up above was giving into the demands of his emotions as he focused on the velvety feel of her skin as it brushed against his.

And he was content, feeling as he had never felt before, as she leaned her head gently onto his chest and looked up at the vanilla painted sky that hung above them.

"What do you think perfection is?" She finally spoke after an age, repeating her original question, her tone soothing and whimsical as she slowly ran her fingers over the material of his sleeve. If he could burn by touch alone then the hot brush of her fingers through the cloth would have been seared into his skin, a brand for all and sundry to see."Do you think that it's something you can touch, something that you can own?"

Again, he didn't know how to answer her and had forgotten how to speak. But when he finally remembered, his voice sounded like it was full of gravel. "Perfection is material, be it an object of art or a woman. I have held perfection before, if only for a moment, but it was in my hands and for that brief glimmer of time, I owned it."

She gave a soft and lengthy sigh against him, her breath stirring her hair as she took in and contemplated his words. She said nothing, just simply continued to rest her head against his chest and continued to stroke the black material.

Was she disappointed in his answer? Did she believe differently? Was he wrong?

After a long moment, although far too short for his liking, she raised her eyes to meet his. He hoped, for just a fraction of a second that what he had said would make her happy, that she would agree, but in those depths he only saw sadness.

"I was afraid you would say that." She said softly. There was no disappointment in her voice, only a trace of regret but for what, he didn't know and he wished he did.

Before he could stop her, she was gone. Once again leaving him on his own as the cold stole back into his heart. His moment had passed, again, and he was left bereft at her loss as the beautifully painted sky slipped into darkness and clouds moved in to cover the moon with the blackened cloak of night.

And so, time, doing as it does, it moved forward, leaving stolen moments locked in the past where he couldn't touch them. With renewed purpose, he sought to leave the man he was behind so that the next time he saw her and she asked him a question, he would be ready. He would know exactly what to say because he would be the type of man who deserved her.

Slowly, he began to realize that the change must start with how he interacted with people and how they perceived him. He didn't know how to do that on his own so he followed her lead. With her as a guide, he began to be charitable, not through funds, but through acts. He gave himself freely to the world around him, just as she had always done.

His gestures weren't large or ostentatious and mostly went unnoticed, but by those who happened to see it happen, they wondered if maybe he had changed. He started small- holding a door open for a mother with a pram in her hands, reaching down to grab some dropped papers by a busy clerk in the Ministry, giving up his place in line at the bookshop for a university student anxious to get to class. It wasn't much, but eventually he began to see that people looked at him differently and he was pleased.

He hoped that she would notice, that she would hear that he was on the right path or that he would see her again. Even a glimpse of her through a window would be enough. It had been too long since he had been in her presence and felt her calm steal through him. But he waited. He was a patient man, or at least on his way to it, and she was definitely worth the wait. The fates would take pity on him again, giving him another chance to finally capture his heart's most fervent desire.

He staid his course and before he knew it, she was there again seated before him in a bright yellow summer dress delicately trimmed in lace with a smile gracing her parted lips and a secret in her eyes. She was exactly the same as he knew her to be but she was simply more. More beautiful, more vibrant, more real and full of life than he had ever seen her before.

She ordered a coffee in that soothing voice of hers and laughed with mirth when the hot liquid touched her tongue. But still, she said nothing to him, only reaching for his hand as she had done previously before slipping into a comfortable silence.

The minutes were slow and he thanked the heavens for their small mercies as his thumb rubbed over the smooth and unblemished skin of her hand. He knew that he would be a perfectly happy man for the duration of his life if this was how he was to spend the remaining years. Just him and her, locked into their own personal bubble of peace and fulfillment.

"I asked you once if you felt that perfection was something that you could hold, something that you could own." She asked him, her expression amused and hopeful. "The first time you didn't answer me and the second time you didn't seem fully sure. Do you know now?"

Not answering her, he pulled her quickly from the table, into his arms and out into the teeming streets of London as the mantle of twilight began to descend around them enveloping them into their own world twinged with the scent of jasmine and painted with the most glorious of hues.

He thought that when the moment came upon him again that his heart would race, that the ground would fall beneath him, that he would choke on his words and lose her again. But that didn't happen, he was at peace because he finally knew with his whole heart just how to answer her.. With her tiny hands grasping his biceps and a tender look upon her face, he finally spoke. His words true and finally, right.

"Perfection is simply this. This moment, us, here, together." He told her, his arms embracing her further as he rested his forehead against hers, their noses touching and their breath meeting in the middle.

Without a further word, she raised up slightly on her toes and pressed her lips to his. He didn't deepen the kiss, just luxuriated in the feel of his mouth brushing gently against hers.

After an age where time, at last stood still, she broke away- glancing at him through her lashes, promising him forever with her open and easy acceptance. And then he knew. It was over, he would never have to wait again. She was his and he was fully and finally, wholeheartedly, hers.


End file.
